Summer dynamics of the deep chlorophyll maximum in Lake Tahoe

Coon, Thomas G.; López, Matilde; Richerson, Peter J.; Powell, Thomas M.; Goldman, Charles R.

doi:10.1093/plankt/9.2.327

Cited by 50 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…10). In contrast to some other oligotrophic or meromictic lakes (Tilzer and Goldman (1978), Coon et al (1987), Cloern et al (1983), Fgtafeng (1976), however, high background light attenuation together with the only weak meromixis resulted in small enhancement of primary productivity by low-light adapted deep-living populations of algae and phototrophic bacteria.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Control of primary productivity and the significance of photosynthetic bacteria in a meromictic kettle lake. Mittlerer Buchensee, West-Germany

Overmann

Tilzer

1989

Aquatic Science

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During 1986 planktonic primary production and controlling factors were investigated in a small (Ao = 11.8-103 m 2, Zmax = 11.5 m) meromictic kettle lake (Mittlerer Buchensee). Annual phytoplankton productivity was estimated to ca 120 gC. m -2. a -t (1,42 tC-lake 1. a-l). The marked thermal stratification of the lake led to irregular vertical distributions of chlorophylla concentrations (Chla) and, to a minor extent, of photosynthesis (Az). Between the depths of 0 to 6m low Chla concentrations (< 7mg. m -3) and comparatively high background light attenuation (kw = 0,525 m -~, 77 % of total attenuation due to gelbstoff and abioseston) was found. As a consequence, light absorption by algae was low (mean value 17,4 %) and self-shading was absent. Because of the small seasonal variation of Chla concentrations, no significant correlation between Chla and areal photosynthesis (ZA) was observed. Only in early summer (June-July) biomass appears to influence the vertical distribution of photosynthesis on a bigger scale. Around 8 m depth, low-light adapted algae and phototrophic bacteria formed dense layers. Due to low ambient irradiances, the contribution of these organisms to total primary productivity was small. Primary production and incident irradiance were significantly correlated with each other (r 2 = 0.68). Although the maximum assimilation number (Popt) showed a clear dependence upon water temperature (Qa0 = 2.31), the latter was of minor importance to areal photosynthesis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Control of primary productivity and the significance of photosynthetic bacteria in a meromictic kettle lake. Mittlerer Buchensee, West-Germany

Overmann

Tilzer

1989

Aquatic Science

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“…In Mono Lake, as in many waterbodies (Moll et al 1984;Coon et al 1987), the nutricline is located within the metalimnion, and a deep chlorophyll maximum occurs above it. Consequently, nutrient fluxes from boundary mixing at the nutricline will serve to supply phytoplankton in the chlorophyll maxima.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boundary mixing and nutrient fluxes in Mono Lake, California

MacIntyre

Flynn

Jellison

et al. 1999

Limnology & Oceanography

263

261

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Temperature-gradient microstructure and nutrient profiling were undertaken at both an inshore and an offshore site on Mono Lake, California, to determine whether boundary mixing occurred and the effects on nutrient flux within the lake. Turbulence, as quantified by rates of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy, was two to three orders of magnitude higher at the inshore site where the pycnocline intersected the bottom than at the same depths at an offshore station. The intense turbulence primarily occurred within 3.5 m of the sediment-water interface. In addition, temperature profiles were more incrementally stepped in the pycnocline inshore than offshore. The Turner angle indicated that double-diffusive processes may have augmented turbulent transport in the upper 10 m, where temperatures were inversely stratified, but not in the main pycnocline. Within the pycnocline, ⑀ exceeded the threshold value for buoyancy flux (⑀ thr ϭ 15N2 ) in 21% of the turbulent layers inshore but in only 1% of the layers offshore. The coefficient of vertical eddy diffusivity, K z , was two to four orders of magnitude higher within 4 m of the bottom inshore than offshore at the same depths. Spatially averaged values of K z , obtained from the heat-flux method using data obtained from both conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiles and moored thermistor chains, were two orders of magnitude less than those obtained nearshore with microstructure profiling. From the differences in K z , we inferred that most heat flux occurred due to boundary mixing at the base of the pycnocline inshore with the heat redistributed laterally by advection. Boundary mixing was initiated after winds were strong enough for the Lake number to decrease to a value of 2; thermocline compression and steepening of internal waves at the base of the pycnocline occurred, followed by packets of high-frequency internal waves critical for wave breaking. Calculated ammonium fluxes at the inshore site were sufficient to support daily rates of primary productivity in the deep chlorophyll maximum throughout the lake. These results indicate the vertical flux of nutrients across the nutricline in Mono Lake occurs over a limited area during intense mixing events initiated by high winds.Whether mixing events occur as frequently throughout the pycnocline as they do near lateral boundaries has implications for heat and nutrient fluxes and spatial heterogeneity of ecological processes. The importance of mixing near boundaries was inferred by Munk (1966), who determined

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“…On the vertical, subsurface maxima of chlorophyll (SCM) or biomass (SBM) are common under stratified conditions (Cullen 1982, Coon et al 1987. Their vertical position is regarded as a compromise between nutrient limitation near the surface and light limitation at depth: a situation that should favor shade-adapted phytoplankton species with the lowest requirements for light (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…compensation irradiance; Huisman et al 2006). The SCM have been found to harbor up to an order of magnitude the concentration of chlorophyll a (chl a) found at the surface (Steele 1964, Anderson 1969, Klausmeier & Litchman 2001, Sharples et al 2001 and to be dominated numerically by few algal species (Coon et al 1987, Huszar et al 2003. Their existence poses a challenge to the remote-sensing estimation of primary production (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, structure and properties of subsurface chlorophyll maxima in Canadian Arctic waters

Martin

Tremblay²,

Gagnon³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

211

226

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Comprehensive investigations of the Canadian Arctic during late summer and early fall revealed the widespread occurrence of long-lived subsurface chlorophyll maxima (SCM) in seasonally ice-free waters. The vertical position of the SCM corresponded with the depth of the subsurface biomass maximum (SBM), at least in Baffin Bay, suggesting that SCM could be an important source of carbon for the food web. Most of these SCM were located well below the pycnocline in close association with the nitracline, implying that their vertical position was driven mainly by a shortage of inorganic nitrogen in the upper euphotic zone. The diversity of SCM configurations with respect to physical properties of the water column complicates the estimation of euphotic-zone chlorophyll and primary production from surface properties. High photosynthetic yields (F v /F m ) showed the phytoplankton to be photosynthetically competent and well acclimated to conditions of irradiance and nutrient supply near the surface and at the SCM. A well-defined primary nitrite maximum was associated with the SCM in the southwest Canadian Arctic, but not in the northeast where nitrite concentrations were highest much below the euphotic zone. This contrast is consistent with differences in vertical stratification, the light -dark cycle and, possibly, the physiological state and taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community at the SCM. This study demonstrates that the SCM, once regarded as anecdotal due to under-sampling, are a dominant feature of the Arctic Ocean that should be considered in remote sensing studies and biogeochemical models.

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Summer dynamics of the deep chlorophyll maximum in Lake Tahoe

Cited by 50 publications

References 0 publications

Control of primary productivity and the significance of photosynthetic bacteria in a meromictic kettle lake. Mittlerer Buchensee, West-Germany

Control of primary productivity and the significance of photosynthetic bacteria in a meromictic kettle lake. Mittlerer Buchensee, West-Germany

Boundary mixing and nutrient fluxes in Mono Lake, California

Prevalence, structure and properties of subsurface chlorophyll maxima in Canadian Arctic waters

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